Aborted is undoubtedly one of the best Belgian metal bands in history, even if singer Sven De Caluwé is the only Belgian in the current line-up due to the many personnel changes. Aborted stands for a mix of no-holds-barred grindcore and death metal. ‘Necrotic Manifesto’, last year’s follow-up to 2012’s ‘Global Flatline’, is a very competent album by a mature band that knows where its strengths lie. Aborted are not innovators; their music respect the conventions of the genre but they do what they do exceptionally well. Twenty years into their career, they still exhibit the same hunger and uncompromising attitude that marked their early work. Blastbeats and double bass galore, brutal death metal vocals alternated with menacing high-pitched screams, fast and dirty riffing and not even a hint of compromise: the perfect ingredients for a bone crushing metal show. (Tex: Steven Verhoeven / Translation: Nick Devos)